The present invention is methods for automatically detecting Global Positioning System (GPS) hardware. More particularly, the present invention is methods which are utilized to detect GPS hardware and configure a user""s computer with little or no interaction relating to selection of communications ports, settings and protocols by the user.
GPS receivers are now widely being used with standard computer platforms. Examples of computer platforms which communicate with GPS receivers are handheld computers (such as Personal Digital Assistants), computers in mobile phones, lap-top computers, and automobile computers. When using a GPS receiver in conjunction with a specific computing platform, the consumer may not understand how to configure the platform""s communications port that connects to the GPS receiver. In such a case, software on the platform that interacts with the GPS receiver typically will not function until the communications port is properly configured. One example of software that runs on a computer and communicates with a GPS receiver is mapping software, such as that utilized for marine navigation. This mapping software is usually executed in a laptop computer and receives position data from the GPS receiver via a communication link.
In order to use software which runs on a computer and communicates with a GPS receiver, a user must typically enter configuration settings for the communications port. These configuration settings are usually unique for the specific GPS receiver. Thus, the user is required to know the configuration settings which are compatible with the GPS hardware. These settings may include baud rate, communications port, and protocol.
Attempts have been made to standardize the communications protocol used by GPS hardware, but these attempts lack configuration information that is essential to the consumer. Without standardized communications protocol, the consumer must obtain the configuration informationxe2x80x94such as baud rate, protocol, and communications portxe2x80x94from both the GPS manufacturer""s and the computer manufacturer""s documentation, and enter this information into the software application running on the computer. This manual configuration process is both annoying to the user and prone to error due to the variables required.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide methods which automatically detect GPS hardware and configure a communications port on a computer for communication with the GPS hardware without requiring any user interaction.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, methods which automatically detect GPS hardware without any user interaction are provided. Using these methods, a user can connect a GPS receiver to a computer platform and allow that platform to detect the GPS receiver and configure the communications port for communication with the connected GPS receiver.
Following connection of a computer to a GPS receiver, the methods attempt to determine the protocol of the GPS receiver by adjusting variables related to the protocol of the GPS receiver. The methods may vary the baud rate, protocol, or any other desired variable in order to determine the proper configuration settings for the communications port. The methods may also vary the communications port in order to determine the port which is connected to the GPS receiver and to apply the proper settings with which to configure the communications port for communication with the GPS receiver.